LOCAL STOP | ASTORIA; The East River's Mediterranean Village

By FLORA ZHANG

Published: May 23, 2010

CORRECTION APPENDED

Astoria, perhaps best known as the Mediterranean hub of Queens, brims with life on warm evenings, as the cafes flicker with lights and laughter fills the streets. There are pockets of Greeks and Arabs in the area, women rustle by wearing hijabs, and some of the buildings are painted white and turquoise, just like the island houses of the Aegean. But hurry. The neighborhood -- just 15 minutes from Midtown on the N or W line -- is changing as other ethnic groups arrive and chain stores supplant little shops.

1 P.M. For lunch, visit Zenon Taverna, 34-10 31st Avenue, (718) 956-0133, a cash-only, family-oriented Greek and Cypriot restaurant run by Stelios Papageorgiou, his wife and three daughters. Zenon specializes in meze, or appetizers; two standouts are the creamy, rich tahini dip ($5.50) and the loukaniko spitisio, or Cypriot sausages, which are soaked in red wine, stuffed with herbs and grilled in bite-size pieces ($7.95). Mr. Papageorgiou said that whenever he travels to Cyprus, he brings back 15 pounds of a black peppery spice he calls shino, which is valued for the aroma it lends meat. The sausages clearly benefit.

2 P.M. Walk north on Broadway, past the car washes and Hopperesque diners, until you arrive at the Noguchi Museum, 32-37 Vernon Boulevard, (718) 204-7088, home to the world's largest collection of work by the artist Isamu Noguchi. Enjoy the graceful garden and sprawling galleries filled with his biomorphic forms. For a distinctive experience, enter the partially enclosed outdoor space, where stone monoliths -- rough-hewn, curved, dignified -- stand, and where birch trees sigh in the wind. Here, light slivers through the open cornices, the cavernous walls cool the space, your skin, and time seems to slow. Stay for a while, and enjoy the deep calm.

3 P.M. Drop in at Yaya's Bakery, 28-46 31st Street, (718) 932-3113, where customers say ''Geia sas!'' -- Greek for hello; pronounced ''Yasus'' -- as they arrive. At this narrow takeout shop, the bread is made fresh daily in a wood-fired brick oven. If the generous loaf of village bread, or horiatiko ($3), is too big to carry, try a slice of bougatsa with custard ($3), or select from an assortment of soft, honey-saturated baklavas ($8 a pound). If you linger, Maria, the friendly proprietor, might make you a shot of strong Greek coffee upon request, though no coffee is sold here.

3:15 P.M. Titan Foods, 25-56 31st Street, (718) 626-7771, is a Greek supermarket with a mural in the parking lot that features the gods of Mount Olympus. Inside, the olive is king. Liters of extra virgin olive oil occupy a whole aisle, more than a dozen barrels of olives fill a large corner and sweet-smelling olive soaps and body oils are displayed on two long shelves. Honey is plentiful as well, including dark, glistening bottles of Monastiri, thick and amber red, from Crete ($12.99).

4 P.M. A long stretch of Steinway Street - especially between Astoria Boulevard and 30th Avenue but also beyond -- is dotted with shops frequented by Egyptians, Palestinians, Syrians and others that, for non-Arabs, offer a window on another culture. At Islam Fashion, 25-31 Steinway Street, (718) 204-2484, hijabs in colors ranging from funeral black to pale pink are on sale, as well as prayer rugs -- with compasses attached. And Grand Bazaar, 28-44 Steinway Street, (718) 728-0818, sells ceramic bowls from Turkey, delicately crafted with intricate floral patterns ($65), and hanging lamps in glass mosaic ($95 to $550).

4:30 P.M. Curious about the many hookah cafes? The brave might venture into Jerusalem Nights, 25-42 Steinway Street, (718) 726-1444, where the tobacco can be flavored with apple, mango, strawberry or other fruits ($8 for two). Good accompaniments: a cup of refreshing anise tea ($3) and a puddinglike dessert called mahaleyah ($3). Two overhead televisions cycle through Arabic music videos, camel statues watch you from wall insets and, for a moment, you will feel like you are in Cairo and not Astoria's Little Egypt.

PHOTOS (PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUZANNE DeCHILLO/THE NEW YORK TIMES)
MAPS

Correction: May 30, 2010, Sunday

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: The Local Stop feature last Sunday about Astoria, often referred to as the Mediterranean hub of Queens, described incorrectly an article of clothing worn by some women there. They wear hijabs, which cover the head -- not burqas, which cover a person from head to toe.